1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to stereo camera systems and, more particularly, to stereo camera systems which automatically self adjust to increase the resolution of an object of interest based on a detected distance of the object of interest from the camera and/or a detected size of the object of interest.
2. Prior Art
Various imaging systems have been developed in the art to produce stereoscopic or 3D images. These systems generally consist of a method for creating two images as seen from a different perspective and means for displaying the images so that one eye sees one perspective of the image and the other eye sees a different perspective of the image to produce a 3D image.
One method is based on the use of separate spaced apart optical means to produce two perspectives of the same image. The images are displayed side by side, such as on film or on a monitor. Means are provided so that the left eye sees only one image and the right eye sees only the other image so that the image as processed by the brain appears as a stereoscopic image. Thus, Stereographic photography is the method of producing images which are apparently three dimensional by recording separate left- and right-eye images. The viewer reconstructs the 3-D image by viewing the two separate 2-D images simultaneously.
Such stereo views have historically been created with a single camera and mirrors or with two or more cameras mounted on a platform. In such systems, parameters which affect the spatial resolution of the object of interest are generally adjustable, such as the pan and tilt of the cameras and the distance between the cameras (also known as the baseline). However, in the prior art stereo camera systems, these parameters are adjusted before use and remain the same throughout the period of operation, thus, no improvement in spatial resolution is made during operation. The reason for selecting and fixing these parameters is a tradeoff between spatial resolution and operational range, so as to increase the space in which an object of interest can move about.
In view of the prior art, there is a need for a stereo camera system, which resolves these and other problems with the prior art stereo camera systems.